AEW head honcho Tony Khan paid Swerve Strickland well enough that cost-conscious WWE allegedly put out word Strickland’s deal was “bad for the sport”. One reason Khan did so because Swerve’s an upsized middleweight who can flat out go, aka one of TK’s main event-er types (see also: Kenny Omega, Hangman Page, Will Ospreay), sure. But he also earns his pay by being a tireless promoter for Khan and his wrestling brand.
Sometimes, mostly when he’s trying to impress music industry types and doesn’t realize he’s being filmed, that’s not worked out so well. But in general, it plays well with AEW diehards while being based in enough reality that it doesn’t come off as a wholly biased argument. Here’s an example…
I don’t know enough about wrestling contracts in general, or AEW and WWE’s current ones specifically, to say much about if or how Strickland was right or wrong when he answered BT of The Baller Alert Show’s question about whether AEW or WWE pays wrestlers better. But he’s worked and knows people at both places, and he was clear:
“AEW by far… By far, cause it’s guaranteed… They [WWE] have got their select few up at the top, like top, top, top, that they’re just like untouchables. But a lot of those guys are starting to retire now. [John] Cena just retired, AJ Styles just retired, so those are like the top, top earners. Like, Taker can’t go no more. So that pyramid is starting to really get real pointy and small up top.”
The former AEW World champ continued by putting his boss over as a “player’s booker”:
“So up here, if I could compare the two, Tony Khan owns AEW. He’s also a part owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Fulham soccer team in the UK. He treats the roster like… not talent, but like athletes. You know how there’s player[’s] coaches, and then there’s organization, like system coaches? He’s a player’s booker. He’s in tune with his talent and his roster and where to put those guys. He utilizes us very well, and it’s like a scheme on a football team.
”So me and him gel very well because he knows my strengths. He knows where I belong. He knows how to utilize all his players in the right way. So therefore, he knows how to pay them too…”
Swerve went on to talk about AEW’s big shows like the two All In PPVs from Wembley Stadium in London, and Khan knows those motivate his wrestlers.
You can check out Strickland’s latest effort to talk up AEW to folks outside the wrestling industry below. And below that in the comments, let us know what your reaction is to Swerve saying AEW pays better than WWE “by far”.
